Abuse of OxyContin Is on the Rise
A drug praised as a breakthrough in pain treatment has been linked with a rising death toll among young people seeking an illegal high.

After Rehabilitation: Here Are Some Tools
Recovering people can use the tools they learn in rehab to begin the intense challenge of avoiding relapse.

Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism: Q and A
A person addicted to alcohol can’t stop using alcohol despite the severe physical, mental, and emotional consequences.

Alcoholism and Family History
Genetics can play a part in whether you have problems with alcohol. But many other factors also have an influence.

Alternatives to Alcoholics Anonymous
Some treatment programs teach problem drinkers to reduce their drinking, an approach that appeals to people who otherwise might not seek treatment.

Break Through the Alcoholic's Psychological Defenses
The most important thing that friends and family can do for an alcoholic is to stop enabling the addictive behavior.

Cool Tools to Keep Your Kids From Smoking
Many teenagers still think smoking is cool. Here are some tools to help parents stay diligent in keeping their kids from smoking.

Cough Medicine Abuse by Teens
A common ingredient in many cough and cold remedies has become a popular substance to abuse by teenagers searching for a cheap, easy high.

Could Your Child Have a Drug Problem?
Before assuming your child is taking drugs, find out if something else may be causing him or her to behave unusually.

Facing Up to Alcohol in the Workplace
Alcohol-dependent employees incur twice the health care costs of the average employee, are more likely to steal from their employers, are more likely to be involved in workplace accidents and are five times more likely to file worker’s compensation claims.

Going Cold Turkey: You Can Do It
Quitting is difficult, but people do quit. Each year, three million Americans give up smoking for good.

Guidelines for Raising Smoke-Free Kids
The most important thing is to keep the lines of communication open -- the more you talk to your children, the better chance you have of staying close when things get tough or when important issues like smoking arise.

Health Risks of Alcohol and Drug Abuse
It's important to understand how alcohol and drugs can affect your health and well being.

Help for Your Smoking Habit
For most people, the best way to quit smoking is some combination of medicine, a method to change personal habits and emotional support.

Help Your Kids Quit Smoking
Every day, about 3,000 U.S. teenagers start smoking. If you're a parent of a young smoker, you can take steps to help the child quit. But first, it helps to understand why teens light up.

Helping a Friend With an Addiction
When a friend shows signs of abusing alcohol or other drugs, it's hard to know what to do or say.

Helping an Unwilling Alcoholic
You don't have to wait for someone to hit rock bottom to act. Here are steps to help an alcoholic get treatment.

Helping Kids to Avoid Cigarettes
Every day, nearly 6,000 teens and pre-teens try cigarettes for the first time, according to the American Lung Association. A third of these first-timers will end up becoming smokers.

How to Help a Loved One Stop Smoking
Quitting smoking is one of the toughest things someone can go through. A person who is quitting needs to hang in there and fight the cravings—and that's hard work.

How to Help Teenagers With Addicted Parents
Growing up is a tough challenge for most adolescents, but when their parents are abusing alcohol or drugs, the obstacles can seem overwhelming.

How to Quit Smoking, Again
Fewer than a quarter of those who attempt to quit are able to make it beyond three months before resuming smoking. Women usually find it harder to quit than do men, even though women have a higher risk of smoking-related diseases. The following suggestions can help you kick the habit, again, for good.

How to Spot Drug Use in Kids
Although most adolescents who use drugs don't become drug abusers or drug addicts in adulthood, drug use in adolescence can put their mental, emotional and physical health at risk.

How to Talk About Drugs With Your Kids
The key is communication. Talking to your children is only half the answer. Listening is the other half.

Important Facts About Amphetamines
Amphetamine abuse is a growing problem in the United States. Each year, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration closes down hundreds of illegal laboratories producing these drugs.

Is Your Teen Abusing Drugs or Alcohol?
Besides having trouble with school and relationships, teenagers taking drugs may display emotional extremes with irritability, anger and changes in sleep patterns.

Maintaining Weight Once You've Quit Smoking
Although people generally gain weight when they stop smoking, you can reduce your chances of adding extra pounds by taking steps to prevent it.

Nicotine Substitutes Can Help You Quit

Options in Nicotine Therapy
By using nicotine replacement therapy to reduce withdrawal symptoms, smokers who try to quit have a better chance of succeeding.

Primer: GHB, the Club Drug
On the street, GHB is used for is ability to produce a feeling of euphoria and hallucinations.

Primer: What You Need to Know About Ecstasy
Ecstasy, or MDMA -- also called "Adam," "E," or "XTC" on the street -- is a synthetic, mind-altering drug with hallucinogenic and amphetamine-like properties.

Quit One Step at a Time
Saying good-bye to cigarettes for good can be difficult. To succeed, you need to make changes to your daily life. But, like the many others who have quit, you too can triumph.

Series' Star Wants to Arrest Smoking
“Quitting smoking was just about the toughest thing I’ve ever done,” says S. Epatha Merkerson. “But the struggle was certainly worth it."

Smoking Adds Another Wrinkle to Aging
Everybody knows smoking is bad for your health. Now here's something you may not know: Smoking is bad for your looks. It's true.

Smoking and Asthma Don't Mix
One of the major triggers for asthma attacks is cigarette smoke. Cigarette, pipe or cigar smoke is especially harmful to people with asthma because it damages the cells in the lungs that make the protective coating lining the bronchial tubes.

Smoking and Gum Disease
Do you have healthy gums? You may kiss them goodbye if you're a smoker.

Smoking: Truth and Consequences
When you smoke, toxins are carried by your blood to every organ in your body. At the same time, the carbon monoxide in cigarette smoke keeps red blood cells from carrying as much oxygen as normal.

Social Drinking vs. Problem Drinking
Alcohol is considered a drug because it depresses the central nervous system and can disrupt mental and motor skills, as well as damage internal organs when used excessively.

Some New Information on Alcoholism
Like cancer or heart disease, alcoholism is a primary chronic disease with its own symptoms and causes. The disease is progressive and often fatal if not treated.

Stages of Substance Abuse
People who become addicted to drugs or alcohol typically go through predictable stages of abuse. Understanding these stages can help you recognize a problem and seek help before substance use becomes an addiction.

Talk With Your Kids About These Issues
Talking with your child about drugs, alcohol and tobacco is tough. But you can't afford to ignore these topics. Children learn about these substances and feel pressure to use them at a very young age.

Teens and Prescription Drugs
Many young people take prescription drugs because they believe they are safer than street drugs, but they can be just as dangerous if taken improperly.

The Dangers of Binge Drinking
Too many young people are participating in a dangerous practice called binge drinking, or drinking to intoxication. It's defined as having five or more drinks in a row for men; for women, it’s four-plus drinks in a row.

The Facts About Marijuana
Knowing about marijuana can help you recognize its use in children and others and help a user seek treatment.

The High Cost of Smoking
When people consider the cost of smoking, they usually focus on the cost of the cigarettes alone. But that's only the first step.

Understanding Alcohol's Effects
The extent of alcohol's effect on the central nervous system depends upon how much is in your blood and how much blood you have.

Understanding Cocaine and Crack
Cocaine use ranges from occasional to compulsive. There is no safe way to use the drug.

Understanding Psychiatric Drug Abuse
Although it’s dangerous to take a prescription medication without a prescription, abusing such medications is the fastest growing type of drug abuse in the United States, outpacing marijuana abuse by a factor of two, according to some studies.

Understanding Ritalin Abuse
When taken as prescribed, Ritalin is a valuable medicine. People with ADHD do not become addicted to stimulant medications when taken in the form prescribed and at treatment dosages.

Understanding the Power of Addiction
When addicted, the drug user will do just about anything to obtain the drug.

Up in Smoke: Cigars and Your Health
Most people realize that cigarettes can cause lung cancer and heart disease. But many people erroneously believe that cigars aren't harmful.

Weighing the Benefits and Risks of Alcohol
Excessive drinking can cause potentially fatal conditions, not only high blood pressure, but also damage to the brain, heart or liver; diabetes and stroke.

What to Do Before You Quit Smoking
Everyone who successfully quits smoking makes a commitment to stop smoking, then devises a plan to do so.

What to Do If You Relapse
Relapse is common among people who are recovering from alcohol or drug abuse. What can help is learning the signs that you may be slipping back into old habits.

What You Need to Know About Heroin
Until recently, heroin was not considered a problem among children of middle-class parents. But lately, it has been showing up in new places.

Why Quit Smoking?
You know you should quit smoking. But you just haven't gotten around to it yet. Here are some reasons to help you commit to quitting.

Women and Substance Abuse
When a woman has a substance-abuse problem, her whole family is affected because she’s often the key to family stability.

Women, Alcohol, and Drugs: The Risks Are Higher
As a woman, your body is much more sensitive to the effects of alcohol and more easily damaged than a man’s body. Because women have less water in their body than men, alcohol doesn't dilute as much and more of it gets absorbed into the blood. That’s why women suffer greater physical damage and often become more intoxicated than men when they drink identical amounts of alcohol.

You Can Stay Smoke-Free
Know your triggers for wanting a cigarette and figure out a plan to deal with them.